Rude Mums Post Reply

[Hattie]

Hmm. It seems the point of my original post has become rather lost in translation - it is not me being judgemental about mothers travelling at peak times, it is not about using a buggy on an escalator on the tube, it is not about whether you should choose between lift or escalators - it was to highlight that these two mums were aware that they were not allowed to use the escalator at this place, chose to do so and then reacted extremely rudely to a passenger who, as a result, was unable to move freely down the escalator, blocking everyone else who wished to walk down behind her. Who are we to say that she should not be in a hurry - isn't that in itself being judgemental?

MY original post was about a mother being unnecessarily rude to a commuting member of the public when both she and her friend were, without question, doing something she should not have been doing - i.e.. travelling on that escalator at a mainline station, exacerbated by the fact that she chose to do so during very busy rush hours, when there was clearly a sign saying that this is not allowed.

I fully appreciate how difficult it is commuting in London but have managed to get around town with babies in buggies for 18 years using buses, trams, trains and the tube without ever having anyone shout at me. Maybe I have been super-lucky, but whichever form of transport I have had to take with any of my babies, the drivers/staff etc have been kind and helpful to me.

I find that when getting a bus, if I hail the bus and point very obviously at the buggy as they approach, they usually pull further in to the curb, I always ask if I can pop the buggy on at the back door (where possible) and ask for the driver to hold on for a second so that I can apply a brake and tap my Oyster card, returning to steady the buggy before he drives off. Tube station staff have always been helpful where there are stairs and members of the public equally courteous.

So - my OP was not a "rant" - I don't really do ranting, especially not on here - you''re a positively terrifying group! However, it was a bit of a general finger-wag at a parent behaving badly. I do read plenty of rants from mothers ON here about other people doing things that get mums riled up (not allowing mum with child to use a loo in a cafe where they are not eating/drinking, parking in M&B spaces at supermarkets, being rude in shops, poor service, surly bus drivers etc) so it's not entirely a rant-free zone is it!

[izzye789]

i agree with hatti only careless idiots would take buggys with babies down escallaters (think i v spelt it wrong) some times the swivel wheels turn and you can topple over they just werent thinking of there babies stupid mums just for the sake of a coffee.just has bad has the cyclest they have no sense they are all colour blind they think the red light means go all boris johnson idiots

[Orangetree]

Your point is not lost Hattie but agree that on this forum you will get a public flogging for daring to say a word against the entitled mummy brigade.
Agree that they can ride any escalator they like whenever they like (without or without cherub) but to inconvenience others and then get snotty about it is unacceptable and "unclassy" (most are unclassy!)
No different to the yummies blocking the entire pavement whilst they see to cherub, chat with fellow yums and expect all others to pander round them!

.....fully expecting the brigade flogging shortly!

[Sw11_123]

They definitely sound like London day tourists to me..
After all, if they were yummies they would probably have got a taxi...

[Hattie]

Orangetree! Bracing myself but unafraid. I was merely a bystander in all this. Thank god I wasn't the commuter, I would have been torn limb from limb by now!

Jabba - tee hee!

[salsamama]

Completely agree with Hattie - there's a sign, and the drop is really very big at this particular spot. Really dangerous to take a buggy there, regardless of the time of day.
Lifts in stations can be smelly but certainly never felt threatened in any of them, have taken them by myself with sling, in pushchair, or with toddler.

The sign is not there to annoy customers or users it's there to protect them, or their babies. Some of the responses on here remind me of a thread that caught my eye on Mumsnet the other week started by a mother to be who was outraged that she couldn't take a babe in arm to the Chelsea Flower Show. There's a time and place for everything, regardless of whether we're mothers or not.

As has already been pointed out the commuter might well have been trying to get home to see tot before bedtime -- a stressful experience that some mothers on mat'leave are not always attuned to I tend to think rude mothers are just sleep deprived and let it go ...

[Kittens77]

I just fail to understand why everyone is in such a hurry. Couldn't the commuter just have waited... It would only have delayed her by a minute, maximum. And couldn't the mummies have responded politely and kindly. If everyone slowed down and were slightly kinder the world would be a better place.

On another note I am interested to hear cyclists ARE allowed to cycle the word way up a one-way street.... My husband was charged a fine by a policeman for doing just this.

I travel to canary wharf 4 days a week to work, and use this escalator. I have never noticed the no-buggy sign. Needless to say I am aware of the lift and would've chosen to use it if i had my buggy with me. However, each to their own and if I'd been blocked by a buggy on my way to work I'd just have used it as an opportunity to rest my legs and catch my breath. X

[ajcmullin]

Sorry to add something not terribly relevant to the original post but in response to Petal's assertion that cycling down one way streets is fine, it isn't the case: http://ukcyclerules.com/2011/08/09/cycl ... y-streets/

[Caferacer]

Well a hot subject indeed!

Trouble is there are inconsiderate people out there - some of them are Mums with buggies, some are cyclists that ride on pavements and speed through red lights, some are car or van drivers who never let people out of turnings and overtake cyclists at speed (and far too close) or park in disabled bays that they are not entitled to, some are scooter riders who stop in the 'cycle box' at junctions.

Inconsideration of others is a sure sign of rudeness and, frankly, ill bred behaviour.

No doubt some are inconsiderate mums,cyclists, drivers and scooter riders...all at the same time!

As my Grandmother said "Good manners cost nothing" and "manners maketh the man"

Motorcyclists however are always polite and considerate

Ross

[Sherlika]

It is actually quite dangerous. My son had his crocs destroyed by a escalator in WAterloo lady year as it got stuck. If the shoe wasn't so sturdy, it would have hurt him really badly. He did harm his big tie though.

For that reason, we are now very careful in escalators, not wearing sandals, talking buggies and I never wear long skirts either when I know I will use a escalator.

[Sherlika]

Sorry about spelling mistakes. Autocorrect does not correct properly!